Horse racing shut down permanently at Hastings Park

[jollyburger]

Their casino operations are not even popular.

Fast-forward to Vancouver’s 2023 Year End, and a city report reveals that just 75% of the slots Hastings are permitted to host are operating and they delivered just $996,000 of gaming revenue to the city.

Parq generated $6.2 million in the same time period.

They said they needed an additional $20 million per year to support the industry.

https://canadianthoroughbred.com/magazine/business/the-decline-of-racing-in-bc/#:~:text=the%20group%20collects%20all%20the,with%20a%20$4%20million%20grant.

[svlt]

I've lived here 35 years and have never met anyone that went to the racecourse. Was there a certain demographic that it attracted?

[SeymourDrake]

Exciting Times ahead for that Property.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by svlt

I've lived here 35 years and have never met anyone that went to the racecourse. Was there a certain demographic that it attracted?

Seems like an older demographic. Like anyone younger that goes to Deighton Cup and wants to feel like some UK aristocrat probably doesn't touch foot at Hastings for the rest of the year.

Horse racing used to be huge in Ontario but now they give them $105 million dollars a year to support it (for 19 years)

https://thelocal.to/breakdown-at-the-racetrack/

There is zero chance horse racing will ever be popular in Vancouver again.

[SeymourDrake]

I bet anyone that holds real estate in that area is likely real happy with this announcement.

[kikin]

Originally Posted by madog222

The jobs were “killed” by the lack of demand for those jobs. We live in a free market democracy, the racecourse isn’t a make work project.

Actually wagering has been climbing in recent years despite the efforts of the government casino competition harming them, racing brings in millions of dollars of wagering in the province as a whole (a lot of the betting on the product is done online now so they may handle millions of dollars in wagering even with smaller on track attendance). The key is they need the facility to hold the racing, and this is the rug that the government allowed to be pulled out from under them with little planning and notice.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by kikin

Actually wagering has been climbing in recent years despite the efforts of the government casino competition harming them, racing brings in millions of dollars of wagering in the province as a whole (a lot of the betting on the product is done online now so they may handle millions of dollars in wagering even with smaller on track attendance). The key is they need the facility to hold the racing, and this is the rug that the government allowed to be pulled out from under them with little planning and notice.

There's still Cloverdale right?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

There's still Cloverdale right?

Closed in August

https://globalnews.ca/news/11347818/its-...ck-to-surrey-horse-racing-track-closure/

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by kikin

... The key is they need the facility to hold the racing, and this is the rug that the government allowed to be pulled out from under them with little planning and notice.

$8-10 million is chump change compared to what other tenants could be earning on that same site.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Closed in August

https://globalnews.ca/news/11347818/its-...ck-to-surrey-horse-racing-track-closure/

Oh well sounds like that business model really on the outs!

[kikin]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Closed in August

https://globalnews.ca/news/11347818/its-...ck-to-surrey-horse-racing-track-closure/

that one seemingly happened overnight too which had many shaking their heads wondering what was going on

[GenWhy?]

It's weird that both of these tracks lease land from their respective cities. I thought Cloverdale track owned their own land.

"“This revitalization will deliver new housing and public spaces, support the $3-billion hospital, expand recreation like the Sports & Ice Complex, and create a stronger venue network for cultural events,” "

Seems like a better us of City-owned land. I assume this was planned in advance for all this stuff going in here?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

It's weird that both of these tracks lease land from their respective cities. I thought Cloverdale track owned their own land.

"“This revitalization will deliver new housing and public spaces, support the $3-billion hospital, expand recreation like the Sports & Ice Complex, and create a stronger venue network for cultural events,” "

Seems like a better us of City-owned land. I assume this was planned in advance for all this stuff going in here?

Seems like they've been more actively working on the town centre plan for Cloverdale for the past few years. The hospital is beside it and opens in 2030.

https://www.surrey.ca/renovating-buildin...nd-use-plans/cloverdale-town-centre-plan

But they didn't tell anyone prior to reclaiming the land so there was zero engagement with the racers.

[Migrant_Coconut]

It's as space-intensive as golf but with less revenue. Doubt consultation would've changed anything.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

$8-10 million is chump change compared to what other tenants could be earning on that same site.

None of that really excuses the government rug pull.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

None of that really excuses the government rug pull.

They threatened to close/not renew their lease back in 2011 so unless they were totally naive the threat was always there that the industry wasn't sustainable.

https://www.biv.com/news/archives/golden-goals63267-8230539

[kikin]

there was a turning point when Apollo Global Management, a large multinational investment firm, bought in a few years back

[kikin]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

It died because the Province took away their casino revenue.

not exactly, they still have significant revenue from wagering that could keep things going, just not as viable to not also share in the casino profits that are part of the racing grandstand facilities which were given the casino license as a partnership with racing there in the first place

they died because their venues, which have been and were supposed to be agricultural based venues since the beginning, were taken away from them overnight, leaving a lot of people whose entire lifetime careers and skills were in the industry now out of work and facing difficult times

[djmk]

Originally Posted by kikin

not exactly, they still have significant revenue from wagering that could keep things going, just not as viable to not also share in the casino profits that are part of the racing grandstand facilities which were given the casino license as a partnership with racing there in the first place

they died because their venues, which have been and were supposed to be agricultural based venues since the beginning, were taken away from them overnight, leaving a lot of people whose entire lifetime careers and skills were in the industry now out of work and facing difficult times

Couple years ago I went to the racetrack for the first (and only time) to see a Yuks Yuks show on a weekend night. The place was both dead and a dump. The bar was like going back in time to the 70s and clearly nobody cared about making the place look nice.

I thought back then that it was time to pull the plug on this

[jollyburger]

Watch in a few years they'll add table games to the Hastings casino and they'll make a few hundred million a year with a modern casino.